These entities form a much larger entity designed to rip off taxpayers while mis-educating their kids.

It used to be that when I said such things, it was too much for your average person to believe (having been brainwashed by a societal "herd mentality" that supports anything called "public education" - no matter how wasteful.)

It is my experience however, that this is changing. A true parasite lives in harmony with it's host, and the parasite that is BIG ED is starting to damage the host enough so the even the most brainwashed suburbanite is starting to notice.

James Hintz took home $302,746 from Adlai Stevenson Township High School District 125 after swinging an unusually sweet pension deal -- better than that of his own superintendent or others responsible for far more schools, state and district records indicate.

By the time Hintz retires next month, his total compensation for the year will reach nearly $375,000, Stevenson officials say. That includes a $101,566 "stipend'' for health insurance -- money he doesn't have to use on health insurance.

One state pension official calls Hintz's golden handshake "extraordinary.''

It is another twist on the kind of end-of-career school pay boosts blasted by Gov. Blagojevich for straining the state's pension system. That system has become a focus of pension reform in the closing days of the state Legislature as lawmakers try to balance the budget.

For Hintz, 55, this is the fourth year his pay will include a stipend. Each stipend carries a double punch. It not only boosts Hintz's take-home pay, it pads his pension, which is based on 75 percent of a four-year salary average.

Hintz's stipends total $217,500 and will tip his pension over the $200,000-a-year mark for the rest of his life, figures provided by Stevenson indicate.

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Bruno's commentary:

Hintz is a PIG. The people who are paying him are PIGS. The taxpayers funding this PIGGISHNESS are IDIOTS. The people who buy into the LIES of BIG ED are IDIOTS.

PIGS & IDIOTS. That is what our education system has become. It's time to call the IDIOTS what they are and it is time the fat PIGS are sent to (political) slaughter.

Their "meat" can be returned to the taxpayer or sent to more effective & deserving spending.

In all my ranting & raving about the HB750 / HB755 "Tax Increase/Fake Tax Swap" bills, one of the main points I raised was that if Republican's held out from bailing Blago out on the 'revenue side', the legislature (totally controlled by Democrats) would be forced to either punt or undertake serious reforms.

In a nutshell, the Democrats, failing to get their tax increase, have decided to raid the already actuarialLy bankrupt pension funds of even more money rather than reform the budget busting Medicaid and Pension systems.

The Republicans are beautifully positioned to spend all 2006 running on a reform with out tax increase theme.

They even have the opportunity to use the pressure created for a " tax swap" to offer a REAL TAX SWAP that is an actual PROPERTY TAX CUT.

The real pressure in the next few months will come from Democrats and Republican "squishes*" to pass some sort of "Save the Democrats Political Future" tax plan that will strikingly (and stinkingly) similar to HB750 or HB755.

Your job (if you are an Illinois Voter) will be to make sure no such tax plan passes in the veto session. If the tax increase fails, 2006 will be owned by Republicans if they take up the mantle of bold reforms and campaign on education accountability before education bailouts.

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*Squish - a so-called "moderate" who tries to act in a manner that s/he might be mistaken for a Democrat. Squishes are prone to hiding behind verbal pabulum like "it's for the children" and "we need more money for schools". "Squish" refers to the noise coming from their backs due to the structural failure (or lack) of their spine.

Research indicates that 50-100 calls from well-informed citizens, or the threat of a well-financed primary challenge, goes a long way toward curing these spinal problems.

Ayn Rand often wrote that the left was self-immolating. Boy was she ever correct.

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Gay Group "defends" Gay-bashing - provided the bashers are from another group with accredited victim status. This is the type of story that just makes you shake your head and ask, "Are they nuts?"

Yes, they are.

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On April 30, American journalist Chris Crain became the victim of a hate crime in Amsterdam. While walking in the street holding hands with his partner, he was savagely beaten by seven men shouting antigay slurs. A few days later, Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Program at the Human Rights Watch, expressed some sympathy for the gay-bashers. Crain's attackers were reportedly Moroccan immigrants.

"There's still an extraordinary degree of racism in Dutch society," Long opined to the gay news service PlanetOut. "Gays often become the victims of this when immigrants retaliate for the inequities that they have to suffer."

Welcome to Politically Correct World, where acts that would merit unequivocal condemnation if committed by white males are viewed in a very different light when the offenders belong to an "oppressed group."

The irony, of course, is that one of the principal reasons for the recent anti-immigrant backlash in the traditionally tolerant Netherlands is the fear that the influx of immigrants from deeply conservative Muslim cultures will threaten the country's liberal attitudes on social issues, particularly the rights of women and gays. (Pim Fortuyn, the maverick anti-immigrant Dutch politician assassinated in 2002, was openly gay.) This fear is shared by some immigrants—notably, the Somali-born politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

For my part, moderates are just as ideological (about not having an ideology) as anyone out there. In a battle between a person who believes in something and one who believes in nothing, bet on the former.

The tenet above is one of the reasons I'd rather spend a few hours arguing with an ideological opposite than a "moderate". Moderates generally are lying about being moderate - and you usually find them to be left, not right.

If they truly are "moderate" - look for them to spew "news-speak" and be very thinly imformed.

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Excerpt:

The assumption right off the bat in most of these articles is that moderate pols embody the wishes of the majority. Wrong. They are a tiresomely conceited minority to which the elite media assign an outrageously disproportionate influence. Together the McCains and the media do not obstruct extremism, as they kid themselves, but produce a new form of extremism -- a tyranny of the moderates under which the majority's legitimate will is thwarted in the name of this or that phony elitist objection.

Under the tyranny of the moderates, mealy-mouthed media darlings get to determine which judges are "inside the mainstream" even as they stand outside the mainstream themselves. How many elections would the Democrats have to lose (and de facto Democrats in the Republican Party, whose media-accorded authority comes from losing Republican primaries and thwarting the mainstream of their party) before their magisterial powers determining who and what qualifies as "mainstream" are questioned?

Get out the fax machines and limber up your phone voice again. The sneaks in the IL Senate are ginning up for one (or two) more tries at the "Bankrupt Illinois" (some might call it "llinois Fist!") tax and slush fund plan.

The rumor is that Meeks and Winkelare doing back room deals to buy off whichever Republicans are stupid enough sign on to this monstrosity.

Based upon the weasel words coming out of some of their mouths, some might be dumb enough to buy in.

Poll shows 2/3 of African Americans believe Social Security is in Trouble

Even polls sponsored by groups opposed to Social Security reform show that key demographic groups understand the problem. According to a survey released by Americans United to Protect Social Security, an organization comprised of groups such as MoveOn.org and the AFL-CIO, 65% of African-Americans believe that Social Security is in a state of crisis or has major problems.*

African-Americans are right to be concerned about Social Security.

The latest report by the Social Security Trustees shows that the program will start paying out more than it collects in taxes in 2017 and will run out of money by 2041.

The percentage of elderly African-Americans who rely completely on Social Security grew from 31 percent in 1990 to 38 percent in 2000, according to the Social Security Administration.

African-Americans receive nearly $21,000 less on a lifetime basis from Social Security's retirement program than whites with similar income and marital status, according to the 2001 Commission to Strengthen Social Security.

The problem is clear.

We need Social Security reform that protects benefits of retirees and those about to retire, ensures the solvency of Social Security, gives younger workers the option of personal retirement accounts, and does not raise taxes on employers or employees. Voluntary personal retirement accounts would allow young African-Americans the ability to build a nest egg for retirement that they could pass on to their loved ones after their death.

*Americans United to Protect Social Security; African-Americans on Social Security, April 21-26, 2005

When debating vouchers with the rabid right - those who believe vouchers will make government take over ALL schools - one of the best points you can raise is "then why isn't the education establishment for them?"

Response: "Uh........"

The point is that you will get a better "sonar reading" of your ideas from you ideological enemies than your friends. With that in mind, I post what a well-received member of the left thinks of the "deal" on the filibuster.

So a deal has been struck on the filibuster. Republicans will allow Democrats to keep the filibuster as long as Democrats never use it. This way, both sides win (except for the Democrats).

Once again, the Republicans have shown their skillfulness when it comes to resetting parameters. Until recently, the perception had been that Bush had consistently filled the courts with extreme conservatives, with only a handful of truly batty nominees failing to meet the standards of Democrats. Now, facing the threat of the "nuclear option," Democrats have backed down on these as well. Thanks to the "finest traditions of the Senate" (Robert Byrd's words yesterday), there's a new agreement under which, presumably, only the certifiably insane can possibly be blocked--or, to put it as the senators did, nominees can "only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances." That way, if Bush's pick for a judgeship finally goes too far even for Republicans--if he nominates, say, an Irish setter who, during confirmation hearings, runs up and bites Orrin Hatch in the leg, then Democrats will be allowed to play the bad guys and employ their filibuster. Otherwise, they'd better hold off, since, if they don't, Republicans might have to take the filibuster away for real.

Of course, if Democrats had been filibustering half of Bush's 200-some nominees instead of only a handful, or if, for example, they had spoken endlessly of "maintaining balance on the courts" and insisted that Bush also nominate some "centrists" and not only "extremists," then a compromise position would have looked very different. But by bracketing the debate between two right-wing extremes--confirm every nominee except for a handful or confirm every nominee through use of the nuclear option--the Republicans had won before they'd even begun.

Meanwhile, skilled negotiators that they are, Republicans have been wise enough not to gloat over their victory.

___

Translated...

Bush wins. The icing is that McCain will never win a Republican Nomination.

Count me out of all the infantile conservatives carping about the deal that delays the rule change to end the filibuster.

If Brown & Owen get on the court, Bush won - plain & simple. The whining, carping and sackcloth & ashes moaning on talk radio and the blogs is counterproductive, in that it gives the left solace when they clearly lost.

The carping is evidence of the same 'cry-baby' attitude that we excoriate the left for engaging in. It seems that if we (as a nation, or as groups) don't get what we want (ending filibusters of judges), we will ignore that we get what we need (Janice Rogers Brown on the Appellate Court).

More later....but Bush won. The best thing he can do now is re-nominate Estrada.

The slavishly "pro-tax" site - better funding for greater waste - has a list of Illinois Education Mandates. This is a laundry list of bad policy, and it is responsible for driving payroll expansion into the stratosphere.

The next time some edu-ratchik mentions 'mandates' as the reason spending can't be cut, just pick your favorite from the list below and eviscerate his lame argument.

For my favorites, note my responses in black text. The mandates - as compiled by some group called "SCOPE", are in blue.

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UNFUNDED OR UNDERFUNDED MANDATESCompiled for SCOPE by Ed Wahl

The following is a list of mandates for public schools. Either the State of Illinois or the Federal government mandates these requirements. SCOPE understands that many of the mandates are a necessary part of what should be done in the field of education but it is imperative that the community is aware of how extensive the list has become.

Bruno's comment:

Note my post on the "myth of local" control. Here is your proof that "local control" is a scheme by which you are convinced that you need a "Superintendent" and cast of characters to "manage" your district.

I hate these mandates, but if you want to keep them, the entire local administrative layer can be sent home, and the principals can be managed from Springfield.

The fact is very few of these mandates are "necessary." If the school district doesn't want to follow them, they should ignore them. If they are truly needed for "education", the district wouldn't need "mandates" to implement them.

Furthermore, despite an Illinois law requiring that the legislature not pass any new mandates which are not fully funded, whenever it wishes to do so, it simply designates the new mandate as “exempt” from that law, adding it to the list of things that must be paid from local property taxes.

Bruno's comment:

Yet more proof that local control is a myth.

Mandates List:

Public schools in the State of Illinois must teach the following:

provide a standards-based instructional program in math, reading, social studies, fine arts, science, writing and other areas specified by ISBE.

Bruno's comment:

State Curricula are a joke, as are the textbook companies that make up a good chunk of the "government/education complex." (GEC)

The first thing to remember is that schools in the US have virtually no "quality control" a la Deming or ISO (international standards organization). The only thing keeping any assemblence of QC is testing - hence the establishment's drive to discredit it.

At what point does this list get ridiculous? "Principals of Free Enterprise!?!? Our schools are very nearly communist indoctrination camps. The seething stink of collectivism pervades your every sense as you enter a GEC building. Virtually every teacher I've met despises free enterprise - those who even understand what it means - that is.

How could a system that would be destroyed by "free enterprise" - if it were allowed to enter the education market - be held responsible for "teaching" free enterprise?

The entire list of Mandates above are the metaphorical proof of the old communist joke.

....you pretend to impose the mandate, and we'll pretend to teach it...

The only exceptions are those mandates that are holy canon to the religion of BIG ED. Those mandates are taken seriously because it's part of the religious dogma of BIG ED. Sex Ed. Gay rights. Feminizing Boys. Making Girls Butch. Demonizing the Bill of Rights. That DOES get taught - it's the religion they must promote to survive.

OK, now it's getting downright funny. A simple reading of this list should be enough to make even the most slavishly pro-GEC parent start to gag. "Pride in Work!!??" They've dropped "work" from the curricula. RED MARKERS are proscribed!!! Junior is being sheltered from RED MARKERS - but molesters have a Constitutional right to view porn in libraries.

I'm sorry - I digress, but our society is dying because too many dingy suburban parents fail to grasp is that when "everything is praised" then "nothing is praiseworthy." We have a class of parents who know NOTHING about what sustains a society because they are too busy sheltering their children from every shred of reality.

In addition, Illinois Public Schools must also:

Give specialized instruction for the hard of hearing, the blind, and the neurologically impaired in the “least restrictive environment”.

Bruno writes:

This is code for "mainstreaming" - the awful practice of placing the difficult to teach in every class they can - for the express purpose of slowing down the entire culture to the lowest common denominator.

Damn you if you argue that I'm being cruel to the "disadvantaged" or the handicapped. That is a lie. This "system" cares nothing for the best practices for the disadvangtaged. If they did, they would have more flexible system.

Life would be wonderful if barriers to learning were removed for the "impaired." But notice the complete lack of concern for those who are "normal". Disruptions in the class - who cares - it's about the "special needs."

A population that can't focus on learning because some one in class spends the period in spasms and out bursts. Not a problem - that's what we have an army of "assistants" for. Learning be damned.

Teach gifted students

Yeah right! It used to be called "ability grouping", but the "free enterprise" teaching socialists got rid of that years ago. They now call it "gifted programs" with Gifted Program Assistants, Directors, Coordinators - an army of the mediocre dumbing down our supposedly best & brightest.

Satan couldn't have devised a better-designed destroyer of human potential.

Conduct eye testing

Bruno writes:

A long time ago, in a Galaxy Far Away, there were things called "Parents" and an entity called "Family".

Give inoculations

Bruno writes:

A long time ago, in a Galaxy Far Away, there were things called "Parents" and an entity called "Family".

Provide pregnancy counseling

Bruno writes:

A long time ago, in a Galaxy Far Away, there were things called "Parents" and an entity called "Family".

Instill morals, ethics, and values while avoiding any mention of religion

Bruno writes:

The idea that you can instill "morals, ethics, & values" with out "mentioning religion" is evidence that public schools are nothing but churches preaching secularism. Absent religion, morals flow from ....what?